The problem of fallen or mispositioned loads has been a problem with warehouses for many years. Such fallen loads can result from several causes. First, the pallet chosen for placement on a rack system may be such that the length of the pallet is less than the distance between the crossbars of the rack. In such a situation, no matter how careful the fork lift operator, the load will fall between the crossbars. In another situation, a careless operator may not set the pallet load on the crossbars properly and the load then falls at least partially between the crossbars. Lastly, a load may originally be properly placed on the crossbars but in placement of an adjacent load, the load is bumped and falls between the crossbars. To date, there has been no satisfactory solution to this problem. The problem has been solved by workers physically climbing up onto the rack and physically dismantling the load and the pallet by hand. It can be appreciated, of course, that this may involve an appreciable amount of time as well as the possible danger inherent in working at the heights of the higher portions of the rack. Alternatively, a solution has been literally to stick the forks of the fork lift truck into the side of the load in order to lift the load out between the crossbars and remove it. This, of course, causes a substantial amount of harm to the load itself.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for repositioning fallen loads and which may be easily and quickly operated and performed by a fork lift operator. It is further an object of this invention to provide a device which is easily and inexpensively manufactured and which will be suitable for performing as described.